Refrigerator and control method thereof

Abstract

A refrigerator and a control method thereof. The refrigerator includes a housing, a door configured to be rotatably coupled to the housing by including a hinge shaft and a hinge gear fixed to the hinge shaft, and a door opening and closing device provided at one end of the door to control opening and closing of the door. The door opening and closing device includes a drive motor, a final gear configured to receive power from the drive motor and transmit the power to the hinge shaft, the final gear arranged at one end of the door opening and closing device to interlock with the hinge gear, and a door position sensor arranged on one side of the final gear to detect a rotation angle of the final gear.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of controlling a refrigerator including a housing and a door rotatably coupled to the housing, the method comprising:
 identifying an angle between the door and the housing;   rotating the door to allow the door to be opened or closed based on the identified angle; and   stopping opening or closing the door based on identifying that the door is stopped while opening or closing the door.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the identifying the angle between the door and the housing comprises identifying the angle between the door and the housing based on a change in at least one of an output signal of a first rotation sensor or an output signal of a second rotation sensor while opening or closing the door. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the rotating the door to allow the door to be opened or closed comprises controlling the speed at which the door is opened or closed based on the identified angle between the door and the housing. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the stopping opening or closing the door comprises stopping opening of the door based on identifying that the door is being closed while opening the door. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the stopping opening or closing the door further comprises stopping closing of the door based on identifying that the door is being opened while closing the door. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 detecting a user around the refrigerator based on an output signal of an object sensor; and,   closing the opened door based on a time, for which the user is undetected, being greater than or equal to a first period of time.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the stopping opening or closing the door further comprises stopping opening or closing of the door based on a time, for which the rotation of the door is stopped, is greater than or equal to a second period of time. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 rotating the door to allow the door to be opened or closed based on obtaining a user input for opening or closing the door.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the obtaining the user input for opening or closing the door comprises identifying the user input for opening or closing the door based on a voice signal obtained from a microphone. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the identifying the user input for opening or closing the door based on a voice signal obtained from the microphone comprises determining that the user input is identified based on a similarity between the voice signal obtained from the microphone and a reference voice signal for opening or closing the door exceeding a reference value. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the obtaining the user input for opening or closing the door further comprises identifying the user input for opening or closing the door based on a user motion obtained from an object sensor. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the identifying the user input for opening or closing the door based on the user motion obtained from the object sensor comprises determining that the user input is identified based on a similarity between the user motion obtained from the object sensor and a reference motion for opening or closing the door exceeding a reference value. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the rotating the door to allow the door to be opened or closed based on the identified angle comprises:
 controlling a motor drive to apply a substantially maximum driving voltage to the drive motor based on the identified angle between the door and the housing being less than a first angle while opening the door.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the rotating the door to allow the door to be opened or closed based on the identified angle further comprises:
 controlling the motor drive to open the door at a first speed based on the identified angle between the door and the housing being greater than or equal to the first angle and less than a second angle while opening the door,   wherein the second angle is greater than the first angle.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the rotating the door to allow the door to be opened or closed based on the identified angle further comprises:
 controlling the motor drive to decrease an opening speed of the door based on the identified angle between the door and the housing being greater than or equal to the second angle and less than a third angle while opening the door,   wherein the third angle is greater than the second angle.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the controlling the motor drive to decrease the opening speed of the door comprises controlling the motor drive to decrease the opening speed of the door gradually or stepwise from the first speed. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the rotating the door to allow the door to be opened or closed based on the identified angle further comprises:
 controlling the motor drive to open the door at a second speed based on the identified angle between the door and the housing being greater than or equal to the third angle and less than a fourth angle while opening the door,   wherein the fourth angle is greater than the third angle, and   wherein the second speed is less than the first speed.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the rotating the door to allow the door to be opened or closed based on the identified angle further comprises:
 controlling the motor drive to terminate opening the door based on the identified angle between the door and the housing being greater than or equal to the fourth while opening the door.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the rotating the door to allow the door to be opened or closed based on the identified angle comprises:
 controlling the motor drive to close the door at a third speed based on the identified angle between the door and the housing being greater than or equal to a fifth angle while closing the door.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the rotating the door to allow the door to be opened or closed based on the identified angle further comprises:
 controlling the motor drive to apply a substantially maximum driving voltage to the drive motor based on the identified angle between the door and the housing being less than the fifth angle while closing the door.